Day 15 – Athens

The blackout shutters and curtains didn’t help us get up this morning and we were later than usual to get up. Nonetheless, we were raring to go after our breakfast muffins and coffee/juice at a much cheaper cafe just around the corner.

Instead of walking to the centre of Athens today, we got the metro instead (Anna finally remembered her metro ticket this time). The metro got us there in quick time, only to be faced with quite a long queue to get tickets. Top tip: get tickets just as the tourist areas are closing as there are no queues and the tickets last 2-3 days. We didn’t do that.

After a long wait, and some heckling with the other line members about which line we were in, it was our time to get a ticket. It was lucky I went back to my house to get my student card before we left because all EU students get in for free! I was buzzing.

Of course Anna needed to go to the toilet once we got into the Acropolis and so we slowly raced around the opening sections of the enclosure. When we reached the top, the Parthenon was being completely renovated – just like almost every other iconic tourist landmark we visit on these trips – and covered in scaffolding.

It was at the top of the Acropolis outcrop that I started to feel sick and needed to go home. Louis was a bit disappointed to say the least but with 39 degree heat and a dust storm on the way, it was probably wise that we took shelter during the afternoon. At least we got to see the big stone thing.

With the sky a deep orange and the sun turning red, the whole of Athens was becoming darker and windier. After Anna had recovered in the hotel, it was almost back to normal but still a bit windy. On our way back into the centre, we tried to copy the locals by not using our tickets in the metro, only to be caught out by closed gates at the other end. No luck this time.

Having seen advertisements for McDonald’s and the weird and wonderful food they have, I was dying to go. In Greece you can have TRIPLE cheeseburgers!! And double big macs – that’s 4 meat patties – all washed down with a beer or two. Just amazing.

Tours of Louis resumed this afternoon with a trip to Lycabettus hill. Twice the height of the Acropolis, this hill overlooks all of Athens and is a great viewpoint for sunset. Our plan was to remain here until sunset, but having arrived 2 and a half hours before it, we decided that we would go elsewhere for that.

Instead of walking up this hill there is an option to take the cable car. I was delighted to find that it was a funicular and I explained to Anna the workings of it, as well as other facts about trains. Did you know, the Line 1 Athens metro line is the second oldest underground system after the London Underground.

The views were spectacular from the top although the dust storm could still be seen in the distant and the wind had remained, leaving children crying and me a bit worried with Anna dangling her feet over the wall. As we had time to spare, we decided against sitting in the wind for so long and went of in search for a rooftop bar instead.

A for Athens Hotel was the bar we eventually found and decided to go to. With the Acropolis in our sight and the sun going down, we enjoyed a bottle of wine(s) and savoured our last night in Athens.

It wasn’t all happy ever after as when we had got back to the hotel, Anna found a cockroach in the bathroom, as you do. Thankfully I managed to get rid of if after chasing it with the bin for 5 minutes – I never knew that cockroaches were so fast! With Drake and Josh on in the background again, we fell asleep to get a good rest before our early start tomorrow.